London's fire authority will hold an emergency meeting in the latest stage of a row over fire station closures and job losses in the capital.

The authority last month rejected proposals to close 12 fire stations, with the loss of 520 jobs, as part of £45 million of savings.

Members narrowly decided to hold a public consultation on future plans, without involving closures.

But London's Mayor Boris Johnson stepped into the dispute by taking the unprecedented step of directing the authority to move towards a consultation on cost-cutting measures.

He said the authority had increased the likelihood of compulsory redundancies by not tackling a budget gap.

London fire commissioner Ron Dobson has proposed cutting around 10% of frontline firefighter posts, adding that he hoped to avoid compulsory redundancies.

The number of fire stations would be reduced to 100 under the proposals.

He said the number of fire incidents in London was down by a third in the past decade, with fire appliances only used 7% of the time.

A total of 24 fire stations dealt with two or fewer incidents a day, while the average firefighter was called out to 195 incidents a year, with only 48 of those involving fires, he said.

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) called on members of the authority to "hold their nerve" and continue to oppose cuts.